Friday, March 5, 2010

Riding Backward

Once I learned to idle, I felt like the unicycle really became an extension of my body. For example, I found myself instinctively back pedaling to catch my balance if my center of gravity drifted back. Capitalizing on that new-found proprioception it wasn't that difficult for me to learn to ride backwards. I found the best way to stretch myself was to pedal forward, then back 1 revolution, forward, then back 2 revolutions, forward, then back 3 revolutions, etc.

Plenty of unicyclists have learned to ride backwards, and you can too. Here's some advice on the topic from Kevin Foster of Expert Village.

If you're your looking for a new challenge after learning on your 20" or 24" uni, try riding backwards on a 5 foot tall giraffe unicycle!